Charlotte Higgins on culture + The Queen | The Guardianhttp://www.theguardian.com/culture/charlottehigginsblog+uk/queen
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What Danny Boyle's Olympics opening ceremony said about Britain's cultural landscapehttp://www.theguardian.com/culture/charlottehigginsblog/2012/jul/28/olympics-2012-danny-boyle
Serious and silly, subversive and mainstream, high and low: Danny Boyle's bonkers Olympics opening ceremony could only have been made by a British artist<p>The NHS, gay kisses; the Sex Pistols, Ken Loach; the Windrush, the Suffragette movement. As Danny Boyle's extraordinarily bonkers Olympic opening ceremony progressed, you could feel left-of-centre Britain gradually giving into its curious and often unintentionally hilarious charms, while Tory Britain little by little grew more enraged. It was bewildering enough, at times, to its domestic audience; abroad it must frequently have been plain incomprehensible. But we, in Britain, knew what it added up to, despite its baffling moments: it was Boyle's impassioned poem of praise to the country he would most like to believe in. One that is tolerant, multicultural, fair and gay friendly and holds the principles of the welfare state stoutly at its heart. One that is simultaneously silly and earnest, mainstream and subversive, &quot;high&quot; and &quot;low&quot; in its culture.</p><p>So what was projected, through this ceremony, of British artistic achievement? At the outset, it was all about the density of British literary brilliance. There was Shakespeare, of course, though it's hard to say how many viewers across the globe will have untangled that Kenneth Branagh was playing Caliban dressed as Isambard Kingdom Brunel. There was Blake. Tolkein was invoked through the manner in which that bucolic landscape gave way to industrial gloom, even if he was never explicitly referred to. Ian Fleming had a double hit, with references to both James Bond and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Carroll, JK Rowling and Barrie were there, the last ushering in the great celebration of free healthcare at the heart of the ceremony. </p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/culture/charlottehigginsblog/2012/jul/28/olympics-2012-danny-boyle">Continue reading...</a>Olympic Games 2012CultureDanny BoyleKen LoachIan FlemingBooksMusicClassical musicStageDanceSimon RattleJM BarrieLewis CarrollWilliam BlakeJRR TolkienGeorge Frideric HandelWilliam ShakespeareJK RowlingSex PistolsThe QueenAkram KhanSat, 28 Jul 2012 07:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/culture/charlottehigginsblog/2012/jul/28/olympics-2012-danny-boyleLaurence Griffiths/Getty ImagesThe Olympic rings are assembled above the stadium in a scene depicting the Industrial Revolution during the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium Photograph: Laurence Griffiths/Getty ImagesPawel Kopczynski/ReutersThe opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games Photograph: Pawel Kopczynski/ReutersCharlotte Higgins2012-07-28T07:00:00ZNeil MacGregor deserves an order of merit for turning down a knighthoodhttp://www.theguardian.com/culture/charlottehigginsblog/2010/nov/16/neil-macgregor-order-of-merit
<p>One of the many aspects of saintliness of <strong>Neil MacGregor</strong>, director of the British Museum, is the fact that he is a plain &quot;mister&quot;. <strong>Sir Nicholas Hytner</strong> and <strong>Sir Nicholas Serota</strong> may have succumbed to the siren call of our honours system, but MacGregor has quite obviously turned down a knighthood.</p><p>Earlier this month, however, MacGregor was awarded the Order of Merit, with minimum publicity. Only 24 people can be members of this elite group at any one time, and at the moment they include Lady Thatcher and Betty Boothroyd (the only women); the Duke of Edinburgh and the Prince of Wales; Tom Stoppard and Lucian Freud.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/culture/charlottehigginsblog/2010/nov/16/neil-macgregor-order-of-merit">Continue reading...</a>MuseumsThe QueenNicholas SerotaArt and designUK newsCultureTue, 16 Nov 2010 22:14:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/culture/charlottehigginsblog/2010/nov/16/neil-macgregor-order-of-meritCharlotte Higgins2010-11-16T22:14:01Z